Keeping up with the pace of technology, exposure to what the competition has in store, and gaining insights on best business practice as it relates to digital – it was a day full of excitement, inspiration, energy, and chaos (good chaos!).

Okay, so this isn’t an understatement… the conference is COLOSSAL. For me, it’s almost hard to capture in words how invigorating it feels to be surrounded by the companies, brands, and people responsible for how we experience technology today and in the future.

The speakers marked for day one held true to the themes, but if there was one point you walked away with it was – Mobile is Everything. Yes, there will be an explosion of video and a new frontier of technology surrounding VR, but all this will be looked at through the lens of mobile.

The technology being developed today is purposeful in that it’s providing more opportunity to people all over the world through integration, authentic/real experiences, and connection. Mobile is health, money, connection, transportation, inclusion, travel, etc. Mobile allows us to be smarter and almost forces us to be more responsible and open-minded in the way we approach life.

In his keynote speech yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg said, “One company alone can’t change the world, and rich people alone can’t sustain the pace of technology.” More than ever we will see leading companies partnering together to expand reach and create a bigger impact in technology. They will continue to rapidly develop products and services that enhance consumer experiences, and evaluate business opportunities against the positive impact they’ve had on the world.

Here are the top three keynote presentations I attended:

Mobile Video Explosion ▼

Ericsson spoke about how they project that almost 70% of all mobile data will be from video by 2021, with no plateau in sight. It’s a new age for video and the major drivers for this are expanding the reach of smartphone and tablet usage across the globe, along with improvements in networks (5G), 4K screens, HD cameras on phones, and the creative ways users consume video via apps. They spoke about how content is the be-all and end-all and stated that video, which leads into VR, is the most engaging forum of all. That said, as we are seeing already, there will be an explosive resurgence of apps for videos and live-streaming capabilities, which will have huge implications for how the networks will support this movement. Lastly, they talked about how this is such an exciting time for advertisers, given the ability to directly connect with consumers in a more intimate and personalized way than ever before.

This was a nice discussion, but it was delivered from a branded and agency perspective. The discussion stressed the importance of concentrating on ways to “understand and delight” the consumer. They spoke about how mobile technology is allowing marketers to create amazing campaigns and experiences. Coca-Cola talked about developing ownable processes to keep up with this new era, and how shaping brand voice is now communal – an open conversation between the consumer and the brand. They also talked about it being an exciting time to “unleash” creative marketing strategies to build mobile products that drive brand interactions via delightful yet intuitive interfaces.

Mark Zuckerberg – Closing Day One Discussion ▼

It was obviously a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to listen to Mark Zuckerberg’s vision and intention for the future. It was humbling to see him sweating and admittedly a little uncomfortable when discussing the future of Facebook. He briefly talked about his recent partnership with Samsung in VR goggles being the best offer, but the focus of the discussion was the plan to connect humanity via the Internet. “Everyone deserves access to Internet. I do not understand how in 2016 people can still be without it”. He talked about how capturing life in the moment and being able to share that with family and friends (people who matter) is profound and powerful. He then touched on some new Facebook products such as free basics and Internet drones that can fly all over the world, and the Aquila drone program, which will be a reality in 2016. This new communication system carries a laser, which gives much stronger and reliable Internet signals to those below. He also touched on eventually developing an artificial intelligence platform, which is more of a personal interest for him. He loves the idea of being able to control what happens in his home, but also thinks AI has huge implications for the healthcare industry.

Do you have questions or comments? Drop them below, I’d love to hear from you!

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